New Zealand Budget 2016: Tobacco tax hike announced

A pack of 20 cigarettes will increase from about $20 now to around $30 in 2020 after hefty new excise increases were announced as part of the Budget.

The tax on tobacco will rise by 10 per cent on January 1 each year for the next four years. That is expected to bring in an extra $425 million in tax over that period. It will affect the some 15 per cent of adult New Zealanders who smoke each day – about 550,000 people.